Lucid will not confirm that he merges with Churchill. However, the SPAC has increased by 30%.

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The possible merger between the special purpose acquisition company

Churchill Capital Corp IV

and the launch of EV Lucid Motors seems to be one of the worst kept secrets on Wall Street.

Churchill shares (marker: CCIV) are firing again after another report announcing an impending merger. However, neither company is ready to confirm the deal.

Churchill shares are up about 30 percent, to $ 52, on Tuesday in trading. The shares were trading at less than $ 37 earlier in the day. The stock has been stalled for short periods due to volatility.

The deal is said to value Lucid at about $ 12 billion. Churchill has about $ 2 billion in cash in his books, which means he will end up with about 17% of the new company. This is a very approximate guide and will change when the offer details appear.

With Churchill shares listed at $ 52, Lucid’s implicit and present value could exceed $ 40 billion. Most SPAC offers are based on the $ 10 unit price at which SPAC shares are issued.

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It is simply unclear whether the $ 12 billion figure is the current valuation or the valuation at which the agreement is reached. There are too few details. Churchill and Lucid were not immediately available to comment on today’s report.

Manufacturer of electric vehicles

Fisker

(FSR), by comparison, is valued at approximately $ 6 billion, based on its 294 million fully diluted shares outstanding. Fisker plans to offer an approximately $ 40,000 SUV for sale around 2022.

Lucid plans to target the highest end of the automotive market. It will start with an aspirational EV model that could cost more than $ 165,000 and have 1,080 horsepower, fast charging times and more than 500 miles of single-charge range. The first high-end Lucids could hit the streets later this year before the company produces low-end luxury cars in 2022.

Expectations of Lucid products are high. Churchill shares have risen more than 400% in the past three months, crushing comparable returns in the

S&P 500

i

Dow Jones industrial average.

Write to Al Root at [email protected]